I bet Boller's throwing before Smith is out of bed.

I'm sorry, but isn't it negligent on Ozzie's part not to sign another quarterback, even if it's just bringing back a Brad Roach, to take snaps in the second half of Thursday's game? Do you really want to expose your only healthy quarterback and prized 1st round draft choice to hits by Atlanta's 2nd and 3rd stringers fighting to make the roster in the latter stages of the final preseason game?

In keeping with NFL practice, this injury is probably much more serious than they are saying.

I thought this was a "stiff shoulder"? Now we're hearing it could be season-ending?

Boller was inconsistent and didn't deliver nearly enough in terms of points, but I have little faith in Smith, who seems to be all swagger and no substance, or Flacco, who simply isn't ready by any stretch.

This is bad news.

does anybody think we should go after D.Culpepper? if nothing else, to be the veteran to help Flaco along.i dont think kyle or smith can really help him to much.

Whether you love Boller or hate him, that would be about the worse news this team could get.

START SHOPPING OZZIE!!!!! you should have done that a couple years ago. Shoulder or not. This whole QB thing in B-More is ridiculous!!!! Flacco could have sat behind Pennington or Farve. Kyle and Troy be gone!!

Torn Labrum. Done for the year.

My inside sources tell me that the first MRI showed a season ending injury and Newsome wanted a 2nd to confirm it-- they need 3 QB and are looking at Nranlet recently cut from SD. He worked with Cameron in Miami as well-- some talk of a trade with 49ers for Hill

I don't really think it's the injured shoulder that's affecting his ability to pass--it just means it hurts now. It's always hurt the fans when he makes a pass, so now it just seems like we're finally even.

Wow. This is the worst injury yet for the Ravens. Let's sign Daunte.

Can you say Daunte Culpeper?

Ray:

If Boller and Smith were healthy, Flacco would be in there against Atlanta's 2nd and 3rd stringers fighting to make the team anyways.

"START SHOPPING OZZIE!!!!! you should have done that a couple years ago. Shoulder or not. This whole QB thing in B-More is ridiculous!!!! Flacco could have sat behind Pennington or Farve. Kyle and Troy be gone!!"

Oh, that makes so much sense. Pay Favre 12 million or Pennington, what Boller and Smith are costing us combined, to come and here and get killed behind our offensive line. Have you watched this team? The QB's havent stood out because they cant even stay on their feet behind the offensive line. Boller and Smith, are young and more mobile the Favre or Pennington and thus the best options for us at the moment given our current cap situation and offensive line woes.

Quit calling for Ozzie's head!

Ozzie is easily one of the best GMs in the NFL. The Ravens contend for the playoffs without legitimate QBs about once every three seasons. That's impressive without a legitimate QB.

Teams that are in the playoffs more than the Ravens (Colts, Pats, Seahawks, Eagles, etc.) all have legitimate QBs. And the best mind in football right now, Bill Bilicheck, absolutely lucked into getting Tom Brady. The Pats were deciding between Tim Rattay and Tom Brady. The Pats are also having big time problems finding a backup to Brady now. Behind Brady, all of their QBs stink.

Be careful what you wish for in calling for Ozzie's head. He has struggled in finding a QB, but if Flacco turns out to be ok (on par with Philip Rivers), the Ravens will be contending for the playoffs year after year.

Christmas in August!

Hatepaste:

Yes, but Boller and Smith aren't healthy; that's the whole point. If Flacco goes down now, you're left having to start a QB signed off the street a week before your season opener. Granted, Flacco could get hurt in the 1st quarter just as easily as in the 3rd or 4th, but at least try to limit his exposure in a meaningless preseason game when he's likely in line to start the opener against Cincinnati.

Oh, that makes so much sense. Pay Favre 12 million or Pennington, what Boller and Smith are costing us combined, to come and here and get killed behind our offensive line. Have you watched this team? The QB's havent stood out because they cant even stay on their feet behind the offensive line. Boller and Smith, are young and more mobile the Favre or Pennington and thus the best options for us at the moment given our current cap situation and offensive line woes.

There are plenty of teams that have average or below average OL's...Stop making the same old and tired excuse that we've heard for years. Bottom Line is It's the same old crap every year!!! With such a stellar organization in place it's a shame that we can't get a franchise QB. And you know what I would have paid Farve or Pennington anyday!!! just to be able to see a QB take the ball from center and not TRIP OVER HIS OWN FEET!!!!

Hey, maybe we can play Marques Douglas at QB!

After paying him $2.5 million per year is there ANY $ left for another QB?

Losing Boller is a problem we can only overcome with the Ravens best QB ever, Vinny Testaverde.
I hear he is available.
Vinny could be a great mentor for Flacco and this year is lost anyway.

I believe Flacco should be the starting QB when the season comes around. If you look at it, he looks to be a efficient quarterback. Everyone is forgetting that he is a rookie. He has a arm and he studies the game. Kyle Boller is too busy living the beach boy life in Baltimore. Troy Smith is a dual threat QB, well take away the threat, but he can run, but running Qb's in the NFL dont last long. After a while Micheal Vick was gonna learn how to pass because everyone is getting faster and defenses will start spying the QB. Flacco is big, has a cannon arm, and can study the game. If he starts this year he will turn some heads and take this Raven team closer to a wildcard berth.

how many franchise quarterbacks are there in this league? favre, brady, manning? drew brees who many consider one was run out of san diego for phillip rivers? is that the only reason we aren't successful, I thought the reason we didn't win was billick?

relax flacco's the guy. he actually played a whole game and had 0 turnovers. when's the last time a raven's qb did that.

Daunte Culpepper doesn't have a job for a couple reasons. First teams are scared of him because of his injuries and his performances in Miami and Oakland. However, Daunte isn't going to want to come in and play 2nd fiddle to anyone because he thinks he deserves more. I am not sure I want him starting behind our O-line either. He isn't as mobile as he was in his best years in Minnesota.

And the performance of the O-line does need to be brought up more this year than any other. How many of our starting lineman are injured? They keep juggling the players back and forth because they aren't working in the position in which they were drafted or signed or to plug the hole vacated by the injured players. First Chris Chester is the center, then Jason Brown. They juggled Terry and Gaithers and Yanda and everyone else. Pick a spot for them and keep them there. With a little experience they might actually amount to something. Get ready for a 3-13 season, if we are lucky. You can't win in the NFL when both your D-line and O-lines are hurting as badly as the Ravens.

Bring back Mcnair

Obviously you don't wish for an injury or anything bad, but my first thought was that if Kyle can't lift his right arm, just throw with his left arm. The results can't be any worse, can they? Additionally, if he can't play this year, in reality all it does is remove one bad choice from the mix. I don't think, and I haven't talked to anybody in town who actually thinks, that he's the better quarterback than the other two.

Being mean aside, I hope he gets better. But I stand by my statements.

Face it, it's not worth several million bucks to grab a "good" QB until the O-line proves itself.

As to Dante, he just doesn't do it for me. Granted, he's an adequate NFL QB, but I just can't see him wanting to be the mentor to an heir apparent. The impression I get is that he feels he's got many good years left, and wouldn't be content with a one year deal. Also, if you recall, Farve wasn't perceived to be worth the hassle and the asking price back when he was shopping around. If he was, then I submit to you that he would have found a home with someone besides the Jets.

So, I'd be real suprised to see Dante show up in a Ravens jersey.

Gonna be real interesting to see how this plays out.

Love it. You should hope for 5 & 11. Cleveland will sweep the Ravens. You can keep Ozzie. Will always hope Troy Smith does well, just not while he is with the Ravens. It's 2008 and I still hate Modell.

Best thing that could happen to the Ravens is to lose Boller.

If Oz is such a great GM, how do you explain Chester, Brown, Grubbs, Yanda, Terry, and Gaither. All of these guys were drafted in the past 3 years by the Ravens. With proper talent evaluation and coaching our offensive line should be set for a decade! Why has such a heavy investment in Olinemen resulted in such a maligned unit? Don't even mention Cody, Cory Ross, PJ Daniels, Pittman, Ivy and other mediocre draft picks since Savage went to Cleveland.

I'm reading these posts indicating that Ozzie should have been shopping for a QB over the last couple of years. This must be a hallucination because nobody else seems to remember it: I thought that Ozzie brought in a former All-Pro QB just two years ago that led the Ravens to a 13-3 record and a first round bye in the playoffs. Sure it didn't end so well when Steve McNair went from 33 years old in 2006 to about 63 years old in 2007, but who could have foreseen that? Patience is understandably short given the franchise's history with QB busts, but I'm not sure you can blame Ozzie for the decisions that have been made the last couple of years.

you guys are nuts. you put boller behind the colts or patriots line he'd be in the pro bowl you put brady or manning on the teams we had under billik they'd be in the hospital. a qb is only as good as his line

On a related note, while I'm not too optimistic about the Ravens prospects this year given the injuries, the staff turnover, and the lack of star quality at the skill positions, there is one area of this team that I believe will pleasantly surprise. That's the offensive line. With the retirement of Ogden and Flynn it's understandable that there would be a concern. But I think the team has done an excellent job of drafting athletes (Brown, Grubbs, Gaither,etc.) to replace the aging starters. If we are healthy at the tackles (Terry, Gaither), this group will be adequate at the beginning of the season and improve rapidly from there.